true.
thing is, the US is so powerful and influential, if they fuck up big time (e.g. iraq, financial crisis) it usually hurts a lot of other people as well, and there's not much we can do about it. and if you hurt yourself (e.g. epic fail after katrina) it's not that we could be happy about it. hate/raging at you won't make you change your habits, which was my initial point. basically you're kindof a feeding carry.

It amazes me how people don't like the U.S. yet we do more for the world then anyone else, especially when natural disasters occur just about anywhere in the world.

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It took a long time and a lot of frank conversations before I could understand why this is. Pushing aside the obvious stuff like people that think democracy is evil and those who would hate anyone who is more powerful that the are you're still left with a large number of people who express those kinds of feelings. What I came away with is that to a lot of people in other democracies or republics we are like a star athlete that can do more than anyone else without really trying and everyone can imagine what we could do if we really tried but because we don't have to we don't. This means that while we do make the world better, especially during times of disaster, but things could be an order of magnitude better if we would actually live up to the values most Americans espouse. How many tyrants yet reign? How many children still starve? How many atrocities happen everyday while we, the most powerful nation in the world, are more worried about who will go to the Super Bowl or who the next Idol winner will be, at least from many outsiders' points of view.

It took a long time and a lot of frank conversations before I could understand why this is. Pushing aside the obvious stuff like people that think democracy is evil and those who would hate anyone who is more powerful that the are you're still left with a large number of people who express those kinds of feelings. What I came away with is that to a lot of people in other democracies or republics we are like a star athlete that can do more than anyone else without really trying and everyone can imagine what we could do if we really tried but because we don't have to we don't. This means that while we do make the world better, especially during times of disaster, but things could be an order of magnitude better if we would actually live up to the values most Americans espouse. How many tyrants yet reign? How many children still starve? How many atrocities happen everyday while we, the most powerful nation in the world, are more worried about who will go to the Super Bowl or who the next Idol winner will be, at least from many outsiders' points of view.

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Yes, all great points thor, the problem is that politics and the news media have taken over and now dictate how our country is run and what the "American People" want, even though, none of us actually have a voice. too many dopes, robots, couch potatoes, drones, and liberals to actually free America to the point of helping to save the world from itself and allowing the entire world to be free and happy and fed etc.

sometimes it makes you sick to know that there is so much more we can do, yet its not in the hands of the people who care the most but rather in the hands of the greedy and selfish in which the powers lies.

wow, this thread went from a natural disaster in haiti to why other countries dislake and hate the U.S

I only saw the first video kindbud posted. It's basically what the "president" of my country (Venezuela) does all the time. "because the previous goverment made deals with american oil companies now we will have blackouts 2 to 4 hours a day in all the cities"

Pwning we know you want Haiti to fall into the ocean because it's filled with black people, but please, could you scratch out the tiniest bit of sympathy for people who have endured a most horrific tragedy? Might as well just give you an assault rifle and send you down there to perform 'triage'....

Pwning we know you want Haiti to fall into the ocean because it's filled with black people, but please, could you scratch out the tiniest bit of sympathy for people who have endured a most horrific tragedy? Might as well just give you an assault rifle and send you down there to perform 'triage'....

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LoL, you must have me confused with someone else, the only people I actually hate are criminals, enemies of freedom, dictators, and most liberals. Always so negative Borric, I just don't know why you attack me so much, but here's a funny to smooth things over!

Conservatives versus Liberals

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy.
A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands everyone know it & legislates legitimacy.

If a black man or Hispanic are conservative, they see themselves as independently successful.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders what government program is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.
(Unless it’s a foreign religion, especially Islam, of course!)

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his through the government.

If a conservative slips and falls in a store, he gets up, laughs and is embarrassed.
If a liberal slips and falls, he grabs his neck, moans like he's in labor and then sues.

If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he's "offended".

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he only buys six.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, heh, wait, no such thing.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he drafts poor kids, especially minorities, so he won't actually have to defend his country.
A liberal wonders how to use diplomacy to resolve problems, keeping force as a final option.

If a conservative is homosexual, he kills himself because he shamed Jesus, or pretends he's straight.
If a liberal is homosexual, he tries to live his life, suffering inequality and hate from conservatives.

If a black man or Hispanic are conservative, they see themselves as tokens used by the conservative agenda.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as hard-working Americans.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he blames it on blacks and Mexicans and the damn Chinese stealing his minimum wage job and then goes on welfare, while somehow retaining the right to bitch about others on the dole.
A liberal gets educated and becomes a productive member of society.

If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he gets an assault weapon from his arsenal and makes terroristic threats.
A Liberal chuckles at the insanity, banality and stupidity of the host and makes educated jokes at the host's expense.

If a conservative is a non-believer, wait, once again, no such thing. All conservatives believe in their Jesus fairy tales.
A liberal non-believer is persecuted, degraded and mocked for having the balls to challenge ignorance.

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he just goes to the hos[ital and never pays his bill. he's white after all right?
A liberal demands that the insurance companies be regulated and drive costs down so everyone can afford coverage.

If a conservative slips and falls in a store, he sues the damn foreigner that owns it, after he runs the guy over with his truck.
If a liberal slips and falls, he checks for injury then gets on with his day..

If a conservative reads this, he's not really a conservative- because he can read.
A liberal will applaud the truth.

Wow... I am truly amazed at how you flipped that around, very clever indeed!

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Both are biased. Funny how that works.

Anywho, as for Haiti - it is quite impressive (in a sadism type way) how nature can cause so much destruction. It is good to see everyone doing what they can to help. It is unfortunate how people (countries) use disasters as a PR campaign to say "Hey! We care! Look how much we've donated!" (Because if they really did care about human lives, we'd see world hunger and other non-disaster related problems disappear... or the inhuman acts within your own country!!)

Anywho, as for Haiti - it is quite impressive (in a sadism type way) how nature can cause so much destruction. It is good to see everyone doing what they can to help. It is unfortunate how people (countries) use disasters as a PR campaign to say "Hey! We care! Look how much we've donated!" (Because if they really did care about human lives, we'd see world hunger and other non-disaster related problems disappear... or the inhuman acts within your own country!!)

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QFT, glad to see someone else sees the truth, its a sad world we live in where all these rich people and politicians can't just make the right decisions and do the right things to make the world overall a better, safer, more humane place.

QFT, glad to see someone else sees the truth, its a sad world we live in where all these rich people and politicians can't just make the right decisions and do the right things to make the world overall a better, safer, more humane place.

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I was thinking about this the other day when a complete stranger said hi to me on the sidewalk. It use to be customary for many cultures to be open, friendly and altruistic, however in our day and age, many of these qualities have disappeared and have been replaced with privateness and insensitivity. I think this can be seen in this very own thread: Salvatore clearly doesn't care about these people because he doesn't know them. But if he had known someone (perhaps a family member) from there, he would be more open to what is happening there.

Let's turn the tables and say I don't give a shit what happened to all the USA/Canadian forces in Iraq. Now all of you that have family or served there are offended. But I know no one or have any interaction with anyone other than a news story. I've witnessed the moving of dead troops along the highway and seen the emotion this brings to people, but I cannot feel the same thing as I have no emotional attachment to these people (other than them being human beings).

And here lies within the paradox of the situation. No one does anything because it doesn't matter enough to them to see it happen until someone in their lives is affected, and then they want to try and convince others to help - but they run into problems because they are trying to convince people who don't have any emotions tied to the problem to start caring about the problem.

The only time people start caring is when it affects their reputation. Then we start to see people come from their dark holes and showering the problem with money - not love or care, just money. And all of us say, 'Wow, that person cares, look at all the money they gave.' Or when someone doesn't give any money, people say, 'You don't care, you didn't give any money.'

I don't think I am like this - or I try not to be. I try to help when I can (physically or through monetary means). However I really believe people just don't give a shit about the world until it affects them, then all of a sudden it is a HUGE PROBLEM. Though some people do care, but not enough to make a big difference unless there is a news story or some sort of recognition attached to the problem. People seem to want to be seen contributing rather than doing it to help another human being. Sad. Or they help just so they can say to themselves that they helped, but they really don't care.